Translations

This is a list of self-contradicting English
words -- that is, words which in and of themselves have two or more
generally accepted meanings in the English language that directly
or generally contradict each other. Such words are also known as
auto-antonyms,
antagonyms,
contronyms, and words
having contradefinitions. Many
such contradefinitions arise from slang usage. Others develop as a
result of their frequent use in sarcasm.

A similar concept, where a commonly used phrase
contains two words which have or can be construed to have
definitions in opposition to each other is known as an oxymoron. See list of
oxymorons for a list of examples.

There are two forms of contranyms: homographic, where two words
with the same spelling can have opposing definitions; and homophonic, where two words
with the same pronunciation can have
opposing definitions. In general, the terms below are both
homographic and homophonic contranyms.

Richard
Lederer included a list of self-contradicting words in a
chapter on Janus-faced words in
his book Crazy English.

T-Rex in the November 2nd, 2007 edition of
Dinosaur
Comics describes this class of words as homographic homophonic
autantonyms.

A

; Awesome : The strict definition of this adjective is
"fearsome, mighty"; but the now generally accepted slang usage
roughly equates to "enjoyable, fun."; Against : Depending on
context, this word can mean "towards" or "close to" ("against the
wall"); otherwise it means "opposing" ("against the wind").

B

; Before : Earlier or sooner than; or in the future of;
awaiting as in "the golden age is before us". This arises from
"before" representing "in front of," while time can be conceived of
from the perspective of a person in the timeline ("the future is
before us") or from an observer standing outside time ("the past is
before the present").; Bolt : As a transitive
verb, it means "to secure something in place (with a bolt)".
But as an intransitive
verb, it means "to leave or run away from (quickly)". The
expression "you're bolting the stable door after the horse has
bolted" means that one is acting to prevent something that has
already happened.; Borrow : American slang. Usually means to be on
the receiving end of a loan, as in, "Bob, may I borrow your rake?"
It is often also used as slang to describe the act of lending, as
in, "Bob, will you borrow me your rake?"; Buckle : As a verb
construction of the noun buckle, which is a device for clasping a
belt together, it means "to secure, tighten, hold"; otherwise, it
means "to weaken, collapse".

C

; Check (cheque) : Like bill, this can either refer to a
bank check, having a positive monetary value; or to a restaurant
check, which is a statement of money owed.; Cleave : To cleave
means both to separate and to cling together.; Commencement : As a
noun form of the verb commence, this should mean "the start";
however the most popular use of the term is for university
graduation ceremonies, at the end of schooling. (It should be noted
that the intent of the term is to mean "the start of professional
life", but this is not the primary perception of the event.);
Constrain : can mean both "to force to" and "to repress".; Continue
: The verb continue means "to keep doing"; however the noun form
continuation, in legal usage, means "to pick up later".; Critical :
Can mean "vital to success" (a critical component), or
"disparaging" (a critical comment).

D

; Dispose : As a past tense verb, disposed means
"removed" or "gotten rid of"; as an adjective; disposed means
"available".; Dusting : When dusting furniture, this means "to
remove dust from"; but when "dusting for fingerprints", or when
used as a noun ("a dusting of snow"), it means respectively "to
apply dust" or "the application of dust".

E

; Enduring : Can mean either "long lasting" or "suffering
through". In some context this can lead to antonymic word play, as
Noam Chomsky pointed out in connection with George W. Bush's name
for the war in Afghanistan: "Enduring Freedom".; Execute : To
execute a person is to end their life; to execute a program is to
start it [Note: This contradiction arises from a shift in meaning
of execution in the sense of capital punishment; what is being
executed is technically the sentence of death (i.e. it is being
started, just like starting a program), but the usage has shifted
away from the sentence and to the prisoner]. [RLC 19 July
2007]

F

G

H

; Hardly: Either barely just, or with extreme powet

I

J

K

L

; Lease : To lend or to borrow.; Let : As a verb usually
means "allow"; in an older (but not obsolete) sense it means
"prevent".

M

N

O

; Original : Original either means plain, or unchanged
(as in original flavour), or it could mean something creative or
new (an original idea).; Oversight : When used as a general
concept, this word is the noun form of oversee, which means "to
manage and be in charge of". But when used to refer to a specific
incident, it becomes the noun form of overlook, meaning "error" or
lapse in proper management.

P

; Peer : Strictly, a peer is someone on the same social
level as you; but in chiefly British
usage, a peer is a person having a title of nobility (and so at a
higher social level than the general populace).; Peruse : Although
considered an error by most usage experts, the word peruse is
commonly understood to mean "to skim over" or "to glance at." The
accepted definition is "to examine closely."; Public : As a noun,
it refers to the common people of a society; however as an
adjective, it normally refers to things operated by the government.
(Of course, such government operations are maintained for public
use. Furthermore, under representative
democracy, the people and the government are considered one and
the same by definition.)

Q

; Quiddity : Can mean either the essence of a thing or a
quibble.

R

; Raveling: means both to entangle and to untangle;
Reservation : as a concrete noun, this can be "a confirmation" of
availability; as an abstract noun, it is "a fear or uncertainty".;
Riot : A riot is usually a chaotic spree of violence and
destruction; but in more casual use it can refer to a funny story
or a good party. (Outside observers may argue that this last
definition often resembles the first.)

S

; Scan : Originally, this word meant "to examine
closely," but has come to mean "to look over hastily".; Secreted :
Usually obvious due to context; but this can mean either "hidden"
(secreted away), or "exposed" (secreted from a wound). The former
is the verb form of "secret", and is pronounced with the emphasis
on the first syllable. The latter is the past tense of "secrete"
and is pronounced with the emphasis on the second syllable.;
Several : Originally meaning "separate, single, or individual", (as
in "the several states" referred to in the US Constitution) it is
now understood to mean "plural, more than two". ; Show-stopper : In
the standard usage, this means "something that is strikingly
attractive or has great popular appeal". Recent usage particularly
in the computer industry has "A bug that makes an implementation
effectively unusable".;Skin : To add skin, or to remove it. "Skin
that deer" "Skin that kayak".; Stakeholder : Historically and
legally means to hold (but not have an interest in) a stake;
however, the term is now sometimes used, especially re corporate
governance, to reference one who does have an interest in an
issue.; Suspicious : Can mean that a person is acting in a way that
suggests wrong-doing, i.e. "He seems very suspicious." or can mean
that the person in question suspects wrong doing in others, i.e.
"He was suspicious of her motives."

T

; Temper : As a verb, it can either mean to soften or
mollify, or to strengthen (e.g. a metal).; Trim : Similar to clip:
it can mean "to add decoration to" (trim the (Christmas) tree), or
"to remove from" (trim the bushes).

U

; Unshelled : Not removed from their shells (adjective)
or having been removed from their shells (the past tense and past
participle of "to unshell"). The ambiguity therefore arises when in
the adjective is used predicatively, as in "The eggs were
unshelled", which can mean "The eggs had not been removed from
their shells" or "The eggs were removed from their shells" (someone
unshelled them).

V

W

; Wicked : Similar to awesome above, the strict
definition of the adjective is "evil"; the now generally accepted
slang usage (barring regional quirks) is roughly equivalent to
"very good".